Transplantation

When someone’s kidneys stop working they need dialysis or a transplant, or alternatively they can choose no treatment and end-of-life care.

Not everyone on dialysis is eligible for transplant but you can talk to your doctor about your options. If your doctor feels you might be a good candidate for a kidney transplant, he or she will refer you to Transplant Manitoba Adult Kidney Transplant Program where you will learn more about the process and options around kidney transplants.

Transplant Manitoba and the Gift of Life program give people a second chance at life through organ donation. The team works directly with donor families and recipients, health care professionals and related organizations. Transplant Manitoba’s goal is to become a leader in access to transplantation for Manitobans with end-organ failure.

Manitoba has its own renal transplant program that performs both living and deceased donor transplants for people with end-stage kidney failure. Every year over 150 Manitobans on kidney dialysis are on the waitlist for a kidney transplant.

Organ Donation

There are two ways of donation that individuals give kidneys: deceased donor donation or living donor donation. To sign up for the organ donor registry that shares your wishes of being an organ donor should you pass away, click here.

Living Donors can actually donate one of their two kidneys. Individuals can donate one of their kidneys and go on to live healthy, normal lives with their remaining one kidney. Manitoba has supports in place such as legislation allowing job-protected leave for living organ and tissue donors. There is also the Reimbursement of Expenses of Living Organ Donors Program in Manitoba. The program helps ease the financial burden of being a kidney donor.